Staple puller



Dec. 2 1 J. A. HALL ETAL STAPLE FULLER Filed Dec. 7, 1962 G in mum m mVA P N m IBI- AW 7 F 4 w n Y a z United States Patent Ofiice 3,162,423Patented Dec. 22, 1964 3,162,423 STAPLE FULLER James A. Hall, 491 S.15th St., and Gustaf L. Shoberg, 1352 Keoncrest, both of San Jose,(Ialif. Filed Dec. 7, 1962, Ser. No. 243,025 s Claims. ((31. 254-28) Thepresent invention relates to a staple puller, and pertains moreparticularly to a staple puller having a presser foot to restrain thepaper or other material in which a staple is embedded, and a tongue towithdraw the staple.

In the past, staple pullers have been devised having a presser foot anda staple pulling tongue, such as, for example, the two De GeneresPatents No. 2,2l5,662 and No. 2,481,647, and Misson Patent No.2,762,604.

The present invention is an improvement in this general type of staplepuller, and employs a single strip of spring sheet metal for bothpresser foot and staple pulling tongue, which spring strip also forms abody portion of the puller, with actuating means interposed betweenupper and lower portions of the spring strip to perform the staplepulling operation.

An object of the present invention is to provide an improved staplepuller.

Another object of the invention is to provide a staple puller formedfrom a single strip of spring metal, with one end of the strip form toprovide a presser foot, and the other end thereof formed to provide astaple pulling tongue shaped to receive the presser foot flush therein.

A further object of the invention is to provide a staple pullercomprising a strip of springy metal formed into a closed loop with endportions thereof interfitted, power multiplying actuating means beingprovided between superposed portions of the bent strip to forciblyseparate the interfitted end portions thereof to withdraw a staple intowhich the end portions are inserted.

These, and other objects and advantages of the invention, will beapparent from the following description and the accompanying drawings,wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a staple puller embodying the presentinvention, portions being broken away.

FIG. 2 is a front end elevational view of the staple puller of FIG. 1,with the staple pulling tongue and presser foot inserted into a stapleto be pulled.

FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 2, but with the cam levers tiltedinwardly to withdraw the staple.

FIG. 4 is an exploded view of the two cam levers as they appear whendisengaged and separated laterally from each other.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line 55 of FIG. 6.

FIG. 6 is a top plan view of the staple puller of FIGS. 1-5.

FIG. 7 is a top plan View of the sheet metal blank from which the bodyportion of the staple puller of FIGS. 1-6 is formed, a medial portionthereof being broken away, lines of bend being indicated in dash-dotlines.

FIG. 8 is an edge view of the body blank of FIG. 7.

Briefly, a staple puller A embodying the present invention comprises abody portion 10 formed of a strip of suitable spring metal. A staplepulling tongue 11, having an opening 12 therein, is formed on one end ofthe body 10, and is of a size to receive freely therein a presser foot13 formed on the other end thereof. The body 16 has a rounded gripportion 14, and upper and lower parallel, superposed, spaced portions 17and 18.

Actuating means comprising opposed levers 19 and 20 are fitted betweenthe spaced, parallel body portions 17 and 18, and the spring body 10 isformed to normally bias the levers 19 and 20 toward their position shownin FIGS.

l, 2, 5 and 6, with the presser foot 13 interposed flush within theopening 12 in the tongue 11.

When the tongue 11, with the presser foot 13 fitted flush therein, areinserted beneath a staple B as shown in FIGS. 2 and 5, and the levers 19and 29 are tilted inwardly toward each other as shown in FIG. 3, thestaple B is withdrawn. An overlying, staple restraining tongue 21 isprovided to catch any forcibly Withdrawn staple and thus to retain it onthe tongue 11.

Referring to the drawings in greater detail, the illustrative staplepuller A comprises the spring strip body portion 10, which may be formedfrom a fiat blank 10a (FIGS. 7 and 8) of spring metal, preferably a goodgrade of spring steel. In the present description corresponding parts ofthe body 10 and the blank 10a from which it is formed are designated bythe same reference numerals. The pointed, staple pulling tongue isformed on one end of the blank 10a of a size to enter between the legs22 (FIGS. 2 and 3) of a staple B to be pulled.

The pointed end of the tongue 11 is also sharpened to a dull edge, asbest shown in FIG. 5, so that it may be easily forced beneath thetransverse head portion 23 of a staple to be pulled. The opening 12 isprovided in the staple pulling tongue 11, and extends back into theblank 10a beyond the tongue 11. The small, rectangular, staplerestraining tongue 21 is also formed integrally within the inner end ofthe opening 12, while a pair of small positioning tabs 24 and 25 areformed integrally with the blank 10a, one at each side of the base ofthe staple pulling tongue 11.

The other end of the blank lila has the presser foot 13 formedintegrally thereon. This presser foot 13 is of a size and shape to fitfreely into the opening 12 in the staple pulling tongue when the blank10a is bent, as shown in FIGS. 1-3, 5 and 6, to form the body 10.

The blank 10a is bent to a circular curved to form the rounded gripportion 14, as best shown in FIG. 5. This rounded grip portion 14 is ofa size to receive an annular hand grip member 27, which is inserted inclosely fitted relation therein. The grip member 27 may be of moldedplastic material, and the central opening therein preferably is of asize to receive the middle or third finger of an average user, althoughthe size of this hole is not material to the invention.

A radially extending, annular ridge 28 (FIG. 1) is provided around eachend of the annular insert 27, these ridges being axially spaced apart toreceive the circularly curved hand grip portion 14 snugly therebetweento prevent displacement of the insert.

From the under side of the circularly curved hand grip portion 14, theportion of the body 10 having the presser foot 13 thereon extends at 1&(best shown in FIG. 5) flat, and tangential to the curved portion 14.From a point on the circle of curvature of the curved hand grip portion14 spaced upwardly from the flat, tangential portion 17 by a distancesufficient to receive the cam levers 19 and 20 snugly therebetween, thebody 10 is bent at 29 (note also FIG. 7) so that the portion 18 thereof(FIGS. 1, 2 and 5) extends flat, and parallel to the tangential bottomportion 17.

At 39 the body 10 is bent first downwardly, and then again forwardly at31, while the small positioning tabs 24 and 25 are bent rearwardly asbest shown in FIGS. 1 and 5 to overlie the bottom, tangential stripportion 18 just inwardly of the staple pulling tongue 11. The bends inthe body 10 are so located, that in the normal position of the springstrip body 14), the presser foot 13 will be positioned flush within theopening 12 in the staple pulling tongue 11, and with slight marginalclearance therein as shown in FIG. 6.

It is important that the ends of the body strip 10, including the staplepulling tongue 11 and the presser 3 foot 13, be heat treated afterpunching, and preferably after forming, so that these portions will bestrong and stiff, since they are sometimes stressed heavily inwithdrawing a reluctant staple. Any relative bending of these partsprevents the presser foot from seating flush in the opening 12 in thestaple pulling tongue 11, and thereby makes it diflicult to insert thembeneath a tightly driven staple.

To retain the levers 19 and 20 against displacement, a pair ofrectangular openings 32 and 33 are provided in the fiat, upper portion17 of the body to receive a pair of lever positioning prongs 34 and 35,one of which is provided on each of the levers 19 and 2 0. Asillustrated, the two levers 19 and 20 are identical, so that they can bemade from a single mold; The levers preferablyare of suitable, moldedplastic material, and

since a large number of suitable plastics for this 'pu'rpose are wellknown to those familiarwith the plastics industry, it will beunnecessary to enumerate them herein. Since the levers 19 and 20 areidentical, only the one 19 will be described in detail.

The lever 19 is in general. of block L shape in side elevation, theupwardly extending leg 37 thereof comprising a lever for grippingbetween the thumb 38 and forefinger -39 of a users hand, as shown inFIG. 3, for withdrawing a staple B. Anoutwardly projecting rib 40 isprovided across the upper end of each lever leg 37 to prevent the usershand from slippin'goff when the cam levers are tilted inwardly inoperating the device as shown in FIG. 3. 1

The base leg 41 of the lever 19 has the upper and lower faces thereofparallel, and spaced apart to fit snugly between the fiat, parallel bodyportions 17 and '18 of the body 10. The upwardly projecting, curvedprong 34 is formed integrally on the upper surface of the base portion41, and is located for insertion into one of the openings 32 or 33 whenthe edge of the upper, fiat body portion 17 is in the angle between thebase 41 and upward leg 37 of the lever upon which the prong is provided.The prong 34 is curved, with its axis of curvature at the angle betweenthe base and upward legs of its cam lever, so that when the levers aretilted inwardly from their positions of FIG. 2 to that of FIG. 3, thetongues will withdraw smoothly' through their respective openings.

The base leg 41 of the lever 19 is notched out at 42 and 43 to providetwo fingers 44 and 45. The notches 42 and 43 are wider at their bases,and narrower 'at their outer ends, while the fingers 44 and 45 are widerat their outer ends, and narrower'at their base ends. The finger 44 onone side of each base portion is of substantially the same shape as, butslightly narrower than, the notch 42 on the other side thereof, whilethe finger 45 is of substantially the same shape as, but slightlynarrower than, the notch 43 between'the fingers 44 and 4s.

The inner end face 47 (FIGS. 2 and 3) of each notch 42 and 43 slopesinwardly and downwardly, while the outer end face 48 of each finger 44and 45 slopes outwardly and downwardly at the same angle. Thus, when twoof the identical levers 19 and. 20 are reversed, the fingers I 44 and 45of one thereof can be inserted from below,

into the notches 42 and 43 of the other, and the fingers l to shortenthe effective length of the fingers and thereby increase the mechanicaladvantage of the levers.

In using the illustrative-staple puller A, the levers 19 and 20 aregrasped lightly between the thumb 38 and index finger, 39, and ifdesired the middle or third finger of the same hand maybe inserted in anobvious manner in the annular grip member 27, although this latter isnot necessary, and is not illustrated in FIG. 3. The staple pullingtongue 11, with the presser foot 13 flush therein, is then forcedbeneath thetransverse head portion 23 of a staple B to be removed, carebeing exercised not to squeeze the. levers inwardly toward each otheruntil the tongue 11 is fully inserted into the staple.

of the two levers will then be interdigitated with the V cam leversopposite each other as best shown in FIG. 6. The fingers 44 and 45 aresufliciently narrower than their respective notches'as to fit and workfreely therein without binding.

,The outwardly sloping end faces 48 on the fingers 44 and 45 will engagethe similarly sloping en'd faces '47 of the notches in which theyareinserted to prevent the levers 19 and 20 from being tilted outwardlyaway from each other. A short bevel 49 is formed on the under side ofeach finger 44 and 45 at its outer end The levers 19 and 20 are thensequeezed together, tilting them toward each other as shown in FIG. 3until the staple is fully withdrawn. Frequently the staples will snapsharply upwardly as they are withdrawn, in

which case they strike'the overlying, restraining tongue 21, whicharrests their upward flight and drops them back onto the tongue 11, fromwhich they gravitate when the staplepuller A is tilted forwardly.

The invention provides a simple, strong, easily operated staple puller,wherein its one piece body facilitates accurate, inexpensivemanufacture, which can be done with small punching and bending dies, andwherein the plastic grip member 27 and actuating membersx19 and 20 aresimple plastic moldings, which can be easily and quickly assembled withthe body.

While we have illustrated and described a preferred embodiment of thepresent invention, it will be understood, however, that various changesand modifications -may be made in the details thereof without departingfrom the scope of the invention as set forth in the ap pended claims.

Having thus described the invention, what we claim as new and desire toprotect by Letters Patent is defined in the following claims.

We claim:

l. A staple puller comprising:

(a) a pairof strips of spring metal mounted in parallel,

spaced, superposed relation,

(b) a presser foot projecting from one end of the lower strip,

(0) a staple pulling tongue .projecting from the end of the upper strip,and having an opening therein of a size to receive the presser foottherein,

(d) a handle grip portion interconnecting the rear portions of saidparallel spring strips and lying wholly above the lower one of saidstrips,

(e) and a pair of actuating levers interposed from opposite sidesbetween the superposed portions of the stripsand tiltable toward eachother to forcibly urge the tongue upwardly relative to the presser foot,thereby to exert a pulling force on a staple into which the tongue, withthe presser foot flush therein, has been inserted.

2. A staple puller comprisingz' r (a) a body portion formed-of a singlestrip of spring 7 metal, Y

(b) a presser foot projecting from one'end of the body strip,

' (c), a staple pulling tongue projecting from the other end of thestrip, andhaving an opening :therein of a size to receive the presserfoot therein,

(d) a curved portion formed by bending the strip rever-sely upon itselfto position a portion of the strip inwardly from the tongue in upwardlyspaced, superposed relation to a portion of the strip inwardly from thepresser foot,

(e) a pair of bends in the strip, one adjacent the base of the tongueand the other in inwardly spaced relation lengthwise of the strip tonormally position the presser foot flush within'the opening in thetongue,

(f) 'and a pair of actuating levers interposed from oppositesidesbetween the superposed portions of the strip and tiltable towardeach other to forcibly urge the tongue upwardly relatively to thepresser foot, thereby to exert a pulling force on a staple into whichthe tongue, with the presser foot flush therein, has been inserted,

3. A staple puller comprising:

(a) a body portion formed of a single strip of spring metal,

(b) a presser foot projecting from one end of the body strip,

(0) a staple pulling tongue projecting from the other end of the strip,and having an opening therein of a size to receive the presser foottherein,

(a') a curved portion formed by bending the strip reversely upon itselfto position a portion of the strip inwardly from the tongue in upwardlyspaced, superposed relation to a portion of the strip inwardly from thepresser foot,

(2) a pair of bends in the strip, one adjacent the base of the tongue,and the other in inwardly spaced relation thereto lengthwise of thestrip to normally position the presser foot flush within the opening inthe tongue,

(f) a pair of L-shaped levers with one leg of each thereof interposedfrom opposite sides between the superposed portions of the strip,

(g) the other legs of said levers extending upwardly for graspingbetween the thumb and forefinger of a user for tilting the levers towardeach other to forcibly urge the tongue upwardly relative to the presserfoot,

thereby to exert a pulling force on a staple into which the tongue, withthe presser foot flush therein, has been inserted.

4. An arrangement according to claim 3 wherein a plurality of alternatenotches and endwise projecting fingers are provided on the ends of thelever legs inserted between the superposed portions of the body, thefingers of one leg fitting into the notches of the other ininterdigitated relation.

5. An arrangement according to claim 4 wherein the notches are wider attheir bases, and the fingers are wider at their free ends forinterlocking relation against endwise separation when in interdigitatedrelation between the superposed portion of the body.

6. An arrangement according to claim 5 wherein the fingers on one leverleg correspond substantially to the notches on the other, and aresuificiently narrower to be freely insertable, and relatively tiltablewhen in interdigitated relation between the superposed portions of thebody.

7. An arrangement according to claim 4 wherein the base ends of thenotches are offset inwardly and downwardly, and the outer ends of thefingers are otiset outwardly and downwardly to prevent relative outwardtilting of the levers when in interdigitated relation between thesuperposed portions of the body.

8. An arrangement according to claim 4 wherein an upwardly extendingprong is provided on the leg of each lever which is interposed betweenthe superposed portions of the body, and a pair of openings is providedin the uppermost of the superposed portions of the body to receive theseprongs when the lever legs are interposed between the superposed hodyportions, thereby to prevent displacement of the levers relative to thebody.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,435,885 Wisroth Nov. 14, 1922 2,215,662 Generes Sept. 24, 19402,518,485 Maynard Aug. 15, 1950 2,762,604 Misson Sept. 11, 1956 FOREIGNPATENTS 1,019,366 France Oct. 29, 1952

1. A STAPLE PULLER COMPRISING: (A) A PAIR OF STRIPS OF SPRING METALMOUNTED IN PARALLEL, SPACED, SUPERPOSED RELATION, (B) A PRESSER FOOTPROJECTING FROM ONE END OF THE LOWER STRIP, (C) A STAPLE PULLING TONGUEPROJECTING FROM THE END OF THE UPPER STRIP, AND HAVING AN OPENINGTHEREIN OF A SIZE TO RECEIVE THE PRESSER FOOT THEREIN, (D) A HANDLE GRIPPORTION INTERCONNECTING THE REAR PORTIONS OF SAID PARALLEL SPRING STRIPSAND LYING WHOLLY ABOVE THE LOWER ONE OF SAID STRIPS, (E) AND A PAIR OFACTUATING LEVERS INTERPOSED FROM OPPOSITE SIDES BETWEEN THE SUPERPOSEDPORTIONS OF THE STRIPS AND TILTABLE TOWARD EACH OTHER TO FORCIBLY URGETHE TONGUE UPWARDLY RELATIVE TO THE PRESSER FOOT, THEREBY TO EXERT APULLING FORCE ON A STAPLE INTO WHICH THE TONGUE, WITH THE PRESSER FOOTFLUSH THEREIN, HAS BEEN INSERTED.